Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal looking to turn things around at UnitedReuters

Manchester United are prepared to break transfer records to achieve their targets this summer, says executive vice chairman Ed Woodward.

Woodward was heavily criticised for failing to do much business in the transfer market last summer, after promising to bring in the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford.

In the end, United were only able to sign Marouane Fellaini from Everton for an enormous transfer fee, and even he proved to be a big flop as the Red Devils finished seventh in the Premier League last season.

However, this time things seems to have turned around at Old Trafford as the appointment of new boss Louis van Gaal has already lured in the likes of Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera this summer.

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Still Woodward claims that United are targeting many more players, and they are not afraid to smash the transfer records to achieve their targets.

"It is in our capabilities. The club are not afraid of doing that - spending significant amounts of money in the transfer market," said Woodward

"Whether it's a record or not does not really resonate with us. What resonates is a top, top elite player that the manager wants that is going to be a star for Manchester United."

Despite doing very poorly in the Premier League and other competitions last season, United signed some bumper deals with new sponsors including Chevrolet and Adidas.

While the Red Devils put to paper a lucrative seven-year deal believed to be worth around £327 million with car company Chevrolet, they recently signed another 10-year deal worth a huge £750 million with German sportswear giants Adidas.

Due to this reason, United can afford to break the bank on transfers this summer, and Woodward says that is exactly what the Red Devils are going to do.

"We are in a very strong financial position. We can make big signings. I get pointed in the direction of a target that the manager wants and there is an assessment of what that might cost and I'll negotiate hard to do the best I can on the trade."

United are currently believed to be working towards securing the signatures of Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels, Feyenoord's Stefan de Vrij and Ajax's Daley Blind.